The Associated Press reported that his daughter, Ann McGovern of Sioux Falls, said: "He's coming to the end of his life." She declined to elaborate.

Marshall Matz, a friend and former staffer of McGovern's who worked with the former senator on food and poverty issues, said by e-mail that McGovern was taken to hospice Monday afternoon. He added that he wouldn't know more about McGovern's condition until after he reached family members Tuesday.